was anyone else GBS +ive?

[ferretfan]

i found out at 38 weeks (test at 37 wks) that i was GBS +ive : the only reason i consented to the test in the first place was because i'm refusing all of the standard newborn tests (aside from the mandatory panel) and figured the crazy nursery nurses would give me less of a hard time if i could produce a -ive result - no such luck and not treat beaker as 'unknown' (aka +ive)

my (very nice) FP doc has agreed to retest me at term (there's no way i'm delivering before then. i'm determined to kick this infection. i've been taking many supplements (echinacea, vit c, garlic, acidophilis) several times a day, and have just been reading about vaginal hydrogen peroxide to create a more acidic environment, and then using vaginal acidophilis capsules in addition. if i still test +ive, i plan on using the hibiclens protocol during labor. i cannot agree to the standard IV abx, it just seems to wrong

anyone else have a positive GBS result? what did you do about it?

[heartandhandsdoula]

The homebirth Mw's here use clindomyocin sp? I'm not sure how many days they use it for but it usually does the trick.

[TaraRae82]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this stress. I will say that my CNM said the natural treatment (vit c, garlic, echinacea, probiotics) should easily kick anything that's there and if it were still + at that point then abx are probably really needed. I totally understand not wanting abx during labor though, not disagreeing with you there! Also, using garlic vaginally will kill anything! My CNM recommended that if my test had been +. GL and I hope you can get that neg result and have a stress-free birth!

[ferretfan]

that's an ABX though, right?

[ferretfan]

cant edit my last post i meant to ask if clindomycin was an ABX

i've done the vaginal garlic thing too, dh is amazed at the stuff i've been willing to put in my vagina lately maybe i should do that again for a few nights and then the hydrogen peroxide vag wash and then vaginal acidophilis (sp?) to build up the good bacteria. I've got until next friday to kick this thing. i can keep the other supplement going to try and kill it in my intestinal tract too.

this really sucks

[lee1203]

Me. Positive here too. : I'm doing what you're doing - the garlic, etc. Although I've been a little slack the past few days, . Gotta improve on that. Anyway, I plan to not have any antibiotics unless I have to transfer to the hospital. I'm now 41 weeks (was tested at 36) and haven't been retested. My midwife hasn't brought it up and I keep forgetting to ask. She did say they'd do the hibiclens rinse during labor, limit internal checks even more than they typically do, and keep a close eye on baby afterwards. So I feel we've got things pretty well covered.

[mamanurse]

Clindamycin is a fairly strong abx OP. How about trying to do the natural stuff and re-testing at 40 weeks. I'm off to go find an article I read not too long ago about the ineffectiveness of abx on preventing negative outcomes in babies with mom + for GBS....

[mamanurse]

Okay... found the Mothering article.

Here's a website with other links and info.

HTH!!!

[meadowmoose]

I tested positive, too. I'm doing a hospital birth, so I'm just going to get the IV antibiotics.

[ferretfan]

thanks for those links, i have read them as this GBS deal has consumed my every waking moment for the last week or so, and sorry that there are others dealing with +ive test result

i'm going as natural as i can with the treatments i'm doing at home, and i have until next friday to get my body straightened out before my 40wk retest. i cannot consent to the abx during labor (also having a hospital birth). if i retest +ive again i'll use the hibiclens protocol and just hope.

doc is ok with my decision to refuse IV abx, providing none of the other risk factors are apparent during labor. so far i've avoided preterm labor. if i should develop a fever or PROM, i'll probably relent and just acknowledge that the universe is telling me something.

just picked up some great vaginal acidophilis from the 'hippy store'. after the garlic and hydrogen peroxide treatment, my birth canal should be colonized by nice healthy bacteria. i just need to knock my digestive tract into shape now

[nalo]

I thought I was making an informed decision by agreeing to abx in labor - unpressuring MW's, I did research on my own and concluded it was a good idea. WRONG! My DD has food intollerances and I'm sure it's because of the abx. I had a fast labor and only got one round. I, also, planned the hibiclens rinse during labor and had everything I needed but I was 12 days post EDD and labor hit hard and fast. NO WAY could the hibiclens rinse happen. So...just because you are plannning it doesn't mean it will actually happen. And...if it doesn't happen I would just cross my fingers and watch babe closely. I would NEVER have abx because of GBS again.

[ferretfan]

i guess i'm still a little fuzzy on the whole hibiclens rinse thing. i know i should dilute to about 1 oz in 20 oz or water, but then do i just wash the vulvar/perineal/anal area? or do i need to get it inside the vagina a little too? i've heard that actually having it in the mucus membranes of the vagina might not be so good

[mamanurse]

I'm not really sure how to do the hibiclens rinse for moms in labor.We wash the entire perineum with full-strength hibiclens and then rinse. In the hospital we insert a foley catheter in the vagina and hang the diluted solution on an iv pole. Then we rinse the vagina with a solution of warm water hanging from the iv pole. Could you possibly check with your HCP to see if this is how they would want you to do it and if they would want you to do it with ruptured membranes?

[ferretfan]

my HCP, despite being amenable to my many odd requests, is a minion of ACOG and knows nothing of the hibiclens protocol. the only treatment he recommends is the ABX, which i'll not do unless i retest +ive and have another risk factor. i dont think he'll care if i bring the hibiclens along, he's just not going to tell me what to do with it (because he doesnt know).

[Delaney'sMommy]

I appreciate this thread. I just found out Wed that I'm + this time around as well. Reading that article really makes me feel uneasy about accepting the antibiotics.

Ferretfan, I found this. It's a few years old, but might be helpful. Made sense to me.

[mamanurse]

OP- I'd get your OB's permission to explicitly use the hibiclens. I wouldn't want some PITA nurse distracting you while your in labor by saying it wasn't cleared with your doc or something. He/she probably won't care that's what you're doing, but if it's on paper (in your chart) then it could be easier and the nurses might be able to assist you.

[ferretfan]

thanks mamanurse, i'll get something in writing to that effect. failing that i'll just sneak off to the bathroom

DM: sorry about your recent Dx. are you going to get a retest before delivery? i read that link you posted. the annoying thing about that is i DID the hibiclens wash 2 days prior to, and the morning of my GBS swab what screwed me was a last minute trip to the bathroom for a BM. i was just headed out the door and realized i had to go, so it was a bit of a rush job and....well...wiping is somewhat tricky what with the resident 'roid and state of pregnancy. so i think i contaminated myself that way. my doc seems to think so too, hence he agreed to a retest (as long as i dont deliver before then). i mentioned to him what i had learned about the abx, and why i wasn't comfortable taking them. he doesn't buy into my argument about resistant strains...despite presenting some abstracts to him *sigh* he's brainwashed like many docs, but he's not pressuring me into something that i dont want. i guess time will tell

i suppose knowing that i'm harboring the bacteria is a good thing, and i hope what i am doing and have been doing in these last 2 weeks is making some progress toward eliminating it. i guess there's less risk to the baby now than if i'd just refused the test altogether. i dunno, i cant stop thinking about it all and my brain hurts

one more question, i posted this in health and healing but noone has responded yet. does anyone know if enteric coated capsules, like the kind that are supposed to survive the stomach but will break down in the intestines, can be used vaginally? if i plan on leaving them in overnight, do you think they'd break down? otherwise i'll have to just get the powder in somehow